Cheque bounce cases: SC wants Centre to come up with law to create additional courts

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 4

As over 35 lakh cases relating to dishonour of cheques clog the subordinate courts across India, the Supreme Court on Thursday termed it as “grotesque” and suggested to the government to come up with a law to create additional courts for a particular period to handle such cases.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said the government has the duty to establish additional courts to deal with cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act.

“The pendency of cases that is rising due to the Act is grotesque. You can make a law to create additional courts for a particular period of time to deal with such cases,” it said, pointing out that Article 247 of the Constitution empowered Parliament to establish additional courts for the better administration of laws made by it or of any existing laws with respect to a matter enumerated in the Union List.

The top court, which had on March 5 last year registered a suo motu case and decided to evolve a "concerted" and "coordinated" mechanism for expeditious disposal of such cases, said the Centre could appoint retired judges or any experts on the subject to deal with such cases. 

Posting the matter for hearing on March 10, it asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to spell out the government’s stand on the proposed law. "It is a welcome move," Mehta told the Bench.

The court pointed out that cheque bounce cases contributed to about 30 per cent of pendency of cases in the judicial system and when dishonour of cheques was criminalised in 1988 no judicial impact assessment was done.

It said that if the impact assessment was not done when the statute was enacted then why can't it be done now and the Centre can exercise its power provided under the Constitution.

The Bench referred to the pendency of cases in Bihar and said that thousands of bail matters were pending in the courts of the state after the liquor prohibition Act was enacted.

On Wednesday, it had directed the Centre to suggest names of members, secretaries or officers from various departments for constituting a committee to suggest measures to reduce pendency of cheque bounce cases.

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